In general, it is important that a hinge of an instrument as described above functions always satisfactorily. For the maintenance and inspection of the hinge, what is called supervisory information about maintenance is necessary. The “supervisory information about maintenance” of a hinge refers to information of a physical quantity that affects satisfactory work of the hinge and indicates an abnormal state, such as abnormal sound due to a defect of the hinge, a counted number of revolutions (i.e., a rotation number) that is relevant to degradation due to time change like abrasion, temperature and torque that are relevant to the life and work of the hinge.
The above supervisory information about maintenance is so far obtained from a maintenance service provider through periodical inspection or from the maintenance service provider when a user notifies them about an occurrence of an abnormality.
According to the conventional periodical inspection, however, a substantial repair is necessary when a trouble beyond held is found, or on the contrary, an excessive repair is carried out due to too early unnecessary inspection. A necessary inspection level is different depending on a user's using state of an instrument or an environment in which the instrument is positioned. Therefore, inspection timing of the periodical inspection is different depending on the case. There is also variation in the accuracy of information obtained by individual inspectors depending on supervisory abilities and understanding levels. When an abnormality or a trouble occurs before a periodical inspection, a user is forced to carry out an unscheduled repair, and the instrument cannot be used until the repair is completed.
The present invention is made to solve the above conventional problems. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and a device for remote monitoring supervisory information about maintenance of a hinge, capable of improving efficiency of periodical inspection and maintenance of the hinge and capable of preventing inconvenience and trouble of the hinge in advance.